2025 Volume 28 Issue 4 Pages 685-695
Background: The Japan Stroke Society Large Vessel Occlusion Scale (“the Scale”), comprising six observational items for assessing suspected large vessel occlusion (LVO), was recommended in a 2023 Fire and Disaster Management Agency notification.
Objective: To examine issues associated with the response to notifications of cases with stroke transported directly to our hospital.
Subjects: We analyzed 199 cases of the three major stroke types in 2022 for transport timelines and documentation rates of onset time. The Scale was evaluated in 241 cerebral infarction cases from 2021 to 2022.
Results: The average transport time was the longest for fire department-transported cases (46 minutes), and the documentation rate for the last known well time was 64%. Reperfusion therapy consisted of mechanical thrombectomy in 11 cases and intravenous t-PA therapy in 35 cases. For the Scale, patients with two or more positive items showed sensitivity and specificity values comparable to those in the notification.
Discussion: The Scale is clinically useful and necessary for revising the stroke implementation criteria of Gunma prefecture.
Conclusion: Revising the implementation standards and continuing the Gunma PSLS 2023 program are essential to ensure the dissemination of these updates.
